Shelter helps save seriously ill cats from euthanasia

There’s no vacancy at Mai Britt’s kitty compound in rural Dawson. Sixteen fat, friendly felines live in a five-room loft above the large garage and office space on her property.

Jayette Bolinski

There’s no vacancy at Mai Britt’s kitty compound in rural Dawson.

Sixteen fat, friendly felines live in a five-room loft above the large garage and office space on her property.

These are no ordinary cats, though. Most of them have feline leukemia, and a few have feline immunodeficiency virus, also known as feline AIDS. The diseases are highly contagious, so the cats cannot be around healthy cats, making their chances of being adopted into good homes slim to none.

Their prospects for survival, about 15 percent, also weigh against their chance of being adopted.

“They’re just really dear. No one wants them,” said Britt, who is a foster caretaker for the Animal Protective League. “Usually when a cat tests positive, they automatically put them down.

“My stance is you don’t have to put them down because 15 percent survive and can have good lives.”

Toby, Schroeder, Shannon, Dayton, Tweety, Colin, Charlise, April, Bo, Chumley, Lance, Cupcake, Skipper and the others know all about the good life. Not only do they live indoors and out of the elements, they have an abundance of food, water, litter boxes, toys, scratching posts, beds, cat towers, kitty treats and visitors.

Each cat is unique. Dayton drools when he’s happy. Skipper has three legs and no tail. An orange cat that is a recent addition hasn’t been named yet but is distinguished by his large paws — each of which has six toes.

Britt, a lifelong animal lover, and her husband constructed the loft with the cats in mind. It is divided into five rooms, each with a window, a storm door, sturdy floor and unfinished drywall walls.

Keeping up with the cats, all of which are APL fosters, is a lot of work. She and her husband spend about an hour and a half a day cleaning and feeding the cats. If they get sick or have problems, the care becomes even more labor-intensive.

“It’s my passion,” Britt said, noting that the cats have lived there three years. About 30 have lived in the loft over that period, and some have died. “Rather than seeing them (euthanized), I want to give them the life they can have,” she said.

Rose Rebbe, executive director of the APL, said what Britt does is a huge relief for the no-kill shelter because most other shelters end up euthanizing leukemia-positive cats.

“There are some sanctuaries that take positive cats, but they’re full, too. So when we get them here and have a place for them to go that’s local, it’s a huge relief,” Rebbe said.

“They’re usually so friendly and sweet that we just can’t do it, so we’re begging everybody to take one home. When she decided to take them, we were so grateful.”

Britt said she has no plans to expand the loft or her feline menagerie.

“I’m full. We’re maxed out,” she said with a smile. “Everybody’s happy with their situation, and I can’t take care of any more.”

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at (217) 788-1530.

Sick cat facts

* Feline leukemia virus is not a cancer. The highly contagious virus compromises a cat’s immune system, making it easy for an infected animal to contract other infections and decreasing its chances of survival.

* There are vaccine, but nothing that offers complete protection from the virus.

* Cats can spread the virus to each other by sharing food dishes, mutual grooming, biting another cat and sharing a litter box used by an infected cat.

* The virus cannot be spread to humans or dogs, experts believe, although mother cats can pass it to kittens in utero.

* City cats contract it more often than country cats because of the higher number of cats they encounter outside.